A/N: I'm back! Sorry for the wait. If you've been following my wordpress, you'd know that for the past two months a LOT has happened that hindered me getting this next chapter up. (Dad had a stroke, my back went out like an old person *I'm 22* among a few other pressing issues...) But, it's all good now! I really hope you enjoy this chapter. I tried to write a lot to make up for my being KIA recently. Thank you guys so much for your patience. I hope everyone is having an amazing week.

Chapter Twelve: A Shift in the Wind

Cairo, Egypt
Museum of Antiquities
القاهرة
23:32

Hinata briskly walked down the hall, her clenched fist quivering against the digital autopsy. Dark circles stained the skin under her eyes from having deliberated with forensic analysts for hours, trying to make sense of their findings. The 2D CT scans brought unprecedented details about Awrutshimaru. From his age to his diet and health before death, they had everything they needed to make a case on how the Pharaoh passed away—and the results were astounding.

They were inconclusive.

"Neji?" Hinata called out. She impatiently kicked off her night slippers that were slowing her down and quickened her pace. Neji was most likely cooped up in his private office located through the annex, near the back of the museum. When he never returned home she would always find him there, buried in paperwork. Or she would find him pacing around Tutankhamun's exhibition, hissing numbers to himself. Her cousin had habits.

She smiled privately and finally stopped in front of the door that led to the office. Pale fingers deftly flew over the keypad, pressing in the code. As much as he'd like to claim he wasn't easy to read, Neji was an open book, though he never used to be. When they were small, she'd always been unnerved by him, thinking him to be a cold, calculative person. Her cousin was never apt at sharing his feelings. He always put on an air of impassivity, and she recalled it always made her feel uncomfortable.

Hinata remembered how she'd often look for ways to avoid his inscrutable gaze, feeling burned whenever he'd speak to her in reprimand.

Now it just seemed silly.

It was only when Naruto came into their lives—all blinding white teeth and sparkling sapphire—that she realized how considerably large his range in emotions was, and how much it could stretch to accommodate Naruto's tireless spirit.

Neji felt just as strongly as she did.

And he fell harder.

"Neji, are you here?" Hinata asked as she opened the door, this time to the darkness. Squinting her eyes, she could barely make anything out without her glasses, but she could see that Neji's office was locked shut. Neither his lights were on, nor the lights leading to her private library. She sighed. Her intuition had been wrong. She was about to turn back, search the basement level, until she heard soft panting. A faint, blue glow, flickered amidst the pitch black. She dropped the autopsy report at once, flipping on the switch.

Neji's body was sprawled out on the floor, papers strewn everywhere, his fingers curled and shoulders shivering. With clenched teeth he said Hinata's name, struggling to right himself into a sitting position. Hinata was by his side immediately, pressing her hand into his back, trying to keep him upright. His shirt was drenched in sweat.

"Wh-What happened?!" Hinata's voice quaked. Neji was cold and clammy. His hair was stuck to his forehead, refusing to yield. She swallowed her panic, using the strength in her biceps to lift her cousin to his feet. She huffed as she propped him against the wall. He was heavy. She utilized her core muscles to keep him in place, her palms pressed fervently against his chest.

"Neji," she bit out, struggling to keep her voice calm. Her first priority was to get him out of here, into the hall. He looked like he had a fever with his face flushed, muscles spasming at even the faintest touch. She needed to take him to the service elevator. She needed to get him to a hospital.

Hinata carefully maneuvered herself so that Neji's arm was strung over her left shoulder. His head tucked under her chin. She sucked in a breath, taking a firm grip of his waist, gently leading him to the door. His feet dragged against the marble, his skin on fire, heat radiating off of him through his clothes in waves like she was hovering too close to a flickering flame.

"Neji, what are you feeling?" She asked, actively watching to make sure she didn't hurt him. Beads of perspiration gleamed on his skin, illuminated by the soft glow emanating from the crystal around his neck. Hinata looked into Neji's dilated pupils questioningly, having never seen the necklace before and feeling oddly drawn to its' fantastic radiance. She held open the door she'd passed through with her foot, inching carefully forward.

"You're burning up…" She whispered. Neji had never been this ill. It scared her. "I-I need to take you to a doctor. Do you remember how long you were on the floor? Were you there this entire time?"

"Forget… about me," Neji rasped, squeezing his eyes shut. Clasping his searing fingers around Hinata's wrist with a violent shake of his head, Neji's eyes dazedly searched hers for some sort of clarity. Of what, she couldn't decipher. "Naruto's…" Neji managed with difficulty, scrunching his eyes shut. " Hah, in... danger… We have to… I have to tell him. I can't let this-... nngh! Happen….again!" "

"N-Naruto?" She seized at the mention of Naruto's name, her grip on her cousin tightening. Hinata was more alert now than ever at the thought of Naruto being put in jeopardy by any means. "Neji, why is Naruto in danger? You're not making any sense. I… I think you're just very sick. Once we have you looked at…-"

"There's no time!" Neji hissed, and without warning he pushed away from her, swaying as he did so to stand.

The door clicked shut behind them, locking into place.

Neji found it eerily signified their entrapment. He greedily drew in a breath, clutching his heart with his right hand, feeling it pulse with the pain, the agonizing guilt that had justly desecrated his soul. He looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes, his mouth set in a hard line. Skin blanched. For thousands of years his spirit sat, placated by Hinata's warmth. By Naruto's friendship. Benumbed by the lackadaisical routines, absorbed in a life that was never his. However, it was clear now.

As Neji's hands shook and he scrutinized their surroundings with alarming vigilance, it was clear that nothing could vitiate his debased nature.

He'd been living a lie, comforted by the oasis in Naruto's intimate, water-christened eyes, taken in by a bond that he'd never rightfully earned.

Now was the time for repentance.

He remembered.

He remembered, but it was far too late.

"We need to leave," Neji urged, opening his eyes to face her and licking his dry lips. Whatever weakness had overcome him before was temporarily muffled, smited by his own self-deprecation and augmenting spite. Two days. Kabuto would be back in two days to hear his answer, most likely believing him to be as docile as before, as ignorant and resentful. As much as he loathed himself, who he once was and who he still might be, and as much as he felt sick with the realization of his sins, Neji promised he would never allow himself to be dragged down to that place again. His loyalties no longer lie with his treasonous, insatiable lust. They remained, as they should have, with Naruto, his best friend.

The love of his life.

The prince of Egypt.

The one he murdered.

"Leaving, Neji? I am afraid it's too late for that."

Both Neji and Hinata jerked, simultaneously caught off guard by the intrusion, by the slippery voice that assaulted the drum of their ears. In front of them stood Kabuto, accompanied by two others. Mercenaries. Neji examined them hastily. None of them fit the profiles of those whom existed in the past, which was a welcomed relief. They were most likely dwellers of this timeline, local egyptians enraptured by Kabuto's sharp tongue and illustrious fortune. Paid to kill.

Neji struggled to stand in front of Hinata, protective. Lucid. Sorely aware.

"What do you want?" Neji glared, vainly attempting to conceal his labored breathing. His body felt heavy, dangerously close to anchoring him to the floor. He elected to ignore it. "You said I had two days."

Kabuto hummed, feigning thoughtfulness. "I changed my mind," the bespectacled man grinned, tilting his head to the side with a flash of his teeth. "It was clear to me that returning your memories would require a little less… stimulation than Sasuke's. So, I've come to collect you."

"Sasuke?" Neji echoed back thickly, dread creeping over his person brought by an influx of remorse. Before, hearing the name of Naruto's lover would damn any rationality, any semblance of sentiment he had. Now, all it did was fill him with desperation, the need to protect those close to Naruto overbearing the affection he had inside; the same affection that drove him to commit the ultimate betrayal.

Neji narrowed his eyes, "what did you do to Sasuke, tjati*? "

Kabuto tutted at the question, "nothing that concerns you, niewtey*."

Neji's body trembled with anger, his indignant expression contorted into something primal at the response.

"Sasuke's fate, you see, was sealed centuries ago when he chose to intervene with Awrutshimaru's plans. Now our Pharaoh simply wishes to finish what he started," Kabuto smirked, trailing his fingers down his throat and lazily skirting them across his stomach, stroking it with his thumb and pointer. "And truth be told, whether Awrutshimaru's resurrection succeeds is rather… inconsequential to me. However, Sasuke and I have some... unfinished business . He did stab me, after all. Right… "

The tips of those digits pressed into pliable flesh, mimicking the proposed action as the skin folded inward, through Kabuto's shirt. Neji watched him sigh, could imagine blood soaking the material in a steady stream, a stream he wished he'd been responsible for.

"... here."

Kabuto looked up at him through tinted frames, a delirious smile reaching his ears.

" I'm not resentful. Everyone dies…" Kabuto paused, and a dark shadow like nothing Neji had ever seen before cast itself over the other's eyes. Kabuto's voice dropped to a low octave, lips curling over teeth, malevolence dripping like poison from a an equally inhuman tongue. "... But I must say, dying hurts. "

"And you will die again," Neji snarled with contempt, "I refuse to go anywhere with you. I will not be subjected to your will. Not this time."

"Oh?" Kabuto chuckled, "Well, isn't this new."

"Don't patronize me," Neji seethed. He choked on it. His shame. The unrepressed acidity of derision over Kabuto and his actions, but he tried to compose himself. His hands balled into fists, teeth digging sharply into the inside of his cheek. "It… was never Naruto's destiny to perish. It was not his time to die. If I had known what you'd planned… If I had even the faintest impression of your intentions, I would have never sent him off to...-"

"You would have what, Neji? Saved him? Kept him from his fate?" Kabuto interrupted gleefully, a chuckle escaping his throat. Neji winced at the mockery, nostrils flaring in defiance. His rapidly beating heart pounded in his ears. Kabuto placed his hands behind his back, leisurely walking towards them. Each step he took filled Neji's head with immeasurable pain. He could feel the resounding echo pound against the entirety of his being. Don't let him in your head, Neji ordered himself. Don't let him bait you.

That's how he wins.

"You would have still made the same decision, Neji, because that is your destiny," Kabuto cooed, stopping breifly to examine the anguish on Neji's face. It reflected deliciously off the marble floor, fueling the desire in Kabuto's heart to defile. To further cast doubt.

"Don't try to hide it…" Kabuto leered, "as soon as I saw you again I could feel it, radiating off of you."

Neji flinched, remembering Kabuto's first words to him as they reverberated through his head, wracking his body with chills.

"Still so greedy, are we?"

"The darkness in your heart hasn't disappeared." He made it seem laughable. As if the very prospect was insulting to Neji's own intelligence. An absurdity that had no place being anywhere in the room. "And being reborn has, unfortunately for you, not changed your true nature. You will make the same mistakes, just as you did before… and with or without your interference Naruto will die. Because that is what our Pharaoh, Awrutshimaru, wills it."

"Awrutshimaru, is no Pharaoh of mine," Neji punctuated heatedly, drawing his lower lip between his teeth, "and no matter what you say I will never allow myself or Naruto to be deluded by your words again. My life no longer belongs to me. It's his… and as the God's as my witness I will die a thousand deaths if it results in even one of your failures."

Kabuto glowered at the declaration, his irises contracting to slits.

"Well. We will see about that," Kabuto sneered, snapping his fingers. The two mercenaries moved forward, each brandishing knives sharpened to a fine point.

Hinata stepped out from behind Neji, moving to stand by his side. She gripped his arm, squeezing it with purpose, giving him a meaningful look.

"Neji," Hinata's voice was chillingly monotonous, betraying no emotion. The only inclination of her worrying was how her forehead crinkled, subtly flickering back and forth between Kabuto and Neji, wrought with tension but ready to defend her cousin and herself if need be. Neji's calve muscles tensed, ready to run, ready to fight with what little coordination he possessed. Then he would go to Naruto.

He would be the friend he should have been over a millenia ago.

Hinata inhaled raggedly, setting her jaw.

"This man said he… he killed Naruto," she whispered. Just the image of Naruto's lifeless body made her nauseous. Murderous. Hinata's features hardened, the proposed information transforming her into something ferocious. Unpleasant. A side that was rarely unlocked unless severely pushed.

Neji locked eyes with one of the two men, straightening his back.

"He hasn't," Neji reassured her quietly, the two of them inching backwards, easing themselves into a defensive stance. The Hyuga's faces simultaneously darkened, vehement, a single person in mind, "at least not yet. Not in this timeline. But this ends here, Hinata… If something goes wrong-"

"-you will explain all of this to me later," Hinata told him, offering up a smile. It was a promise, a promise that there would be a next time. That despite their situation, they would make it out of this alive. And Neji mustered a smile back, pledging the same. He silently implored Isis to ensure Hinata's safety, touching his fingertips to the curve of the crystal shimmering against his pale skin.

If Hinata had been born at that time—a time when the Nile inundated the fields, his world consisted of coarse off-whites and searing winds and his heart had been a funnel of fury and self-deprecation—he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, she would have been enough to liberate him. Hinata would have saved him, lifted him up as she has all these years and led him down the correct path.

With her in his life, maybe he wouldn't have made all those terrible choices.

Neji would not waste time, however, berating himself over what could have been.

She was here now.

This was his new life—and he was going to protect it.

I'm stronger.

The mercenaries never knew what hit them.

Hinata was the first to charge ahead, her leg snapping forward, a bare heel colliding with the bedraggled executioner's jaw and bending it back amidst a flurry of gnashed teeth and wriggling toes. Neji wasn't surprised. He knew Naruto had secretly taught her combat moves years ago as he heard the ear-splitting crack, the bones crunching and the temporomandibular joint nearly unhitching at the impact of the blow. The thug puffed through his nose, never allowed time to recover when Hinata's palm slammed into the man's stomach soon after, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to double over.

His face met with the brunt of Hinata's knee when she snapped her hips, and he was knocked to the ground in seconds. Hinata's abdomen flexed. She brushed her hair out of her face. Rose petal lips pressed together as she bent the knee of her non striking leg to gain more momentum, and she lifted her right one up in a backwards swing, dropping it on the mercenaries face and splitting the skin. He was unconscious, instantly.

Kabuto whistled at the display, idly standing by to watch. The knife flew out of Hinata's assailant's hand and skidded across the floor. Neji, in spite of his dizziness, managed to pull himself together to join her as he took on the second man, now looking wary about his situation as he nastily snarled at Neji and swung at him with his knife. Neji wasn't quick enough. He was having a hard time dodging the attack, albeit everything seemed to be moving in slow motion his body was plaintively slower. More sickly.

The tip of the knife nicked Neji's stomach as he draw back, and Neji hissed with pain.
He attempted to gain some balance as he drew his fist back and it met his attacker with bruising force. However, although his target's face seized to the side, he didn't go down as easily as Neji hoped. Instead, his attacker ducked, returning the blow with a jab to Neji's gut.
Neji doubled over, groaning as a hand conveniently fisted through long hair, pulling him up and delivering another strike to his cheek.

Neji grasped the wrist holding him in place. Grubby fingers roughly clasped the strands, unrelenting in their pursuit. He swore he could hear the ends of his hair crunch from the breakage. I need to get loose! He attempted to twist the other's arm off of him, despising himself for having such an easy weakness to exploit. Hinata witnessed the struggle and rushed to help, jumping on top of the man's back and dipping her fingers on either side of his mouth in a fish hook, pulling the cheeks back.

It was a dirty move, but it incited panic and the mercenary screamed, letting Neji go.

Neji silently thanked Hinata in his head as he moved his long knee in a forward strike to the soft spot on the other's abdomen, and he too sagged to the floor. His knife clattered. Neji bent to pick it up, his brows snapping together as he sized Kabuto up, detesting how Kabuto remained relaxed, as if oddly appeased by the turn of events.

Neji's bitter loathing thrived on the posture, sending his blinding scorn to the forefront. He was running before he could think, swinging the knife at the visier with an impulse oddly reminiscent of a certain archaeologist he knew. He didn't care to measure Kabuto's strength as he brought the weapon down, revenge inciting an idiocy in him that he never knew he would ever possess.

Kabuto flashed a feral grin.

The best outcome was playing out before him as his hand quickly outstretched to meet Neji's face; and Neji wasn't able to get away. He was seized by his cheeks, an overwhelming strength mercilessly subduing him, and Kabuto squeezed. Neji's hand, the one holding the knife, twitched and convulsed with a gasp of pain. He screamed, screwing his eyes shut when Kabuto's fingers dug into his skin, the pressure hammering into his skull. It was all it took to make him go limp against the palm of Kabuto's hand.

"Neji!" Hinata shrilled. Neji dropped the weapon and lamely, fruitlessly grasped at the arm keeping him stagnant, only to feel his body weaken until his arms drooped to his sides.

Hinata gasped behind him. Neji could hear her approaching, only to be stopped by Kabuto's soft click of disapproval.

"Nuh-uh, uh. Unless you want me to kill him," Kabuto said cheerily, applying strain with each word. "I wouldn't move, if I were you."

"Fuh-! Nhh..Hah..!" Neji wheezed. Kabuto dropped him to the floor, a momentary reprieve, a welcomed chance to draw in air. "Fu... ck!"

Neji cussed out loud. A coughing fit decimated his frame as Hinata stood frozen in place, confliction and concern for Neji causing her to be silent. Still. Kabuto couldn't help the chuckle that filtered out of him at the welcomed sight. The subservience caused it to bubble from his throat into all out, manic laughter. Neji was his.

He wasted no effort in slamming his foot against Neji's back, pressing him onto the floor, forcing him to kneel as though he were a slave. And that's just what he would be. Neji was lucky to be even that, at this point.

Kabuto shivered pleasantly, indulging himself in the sight. Hinata's lower lip quivered in the face of Neji's crumpled form before her jaw tightened, scowling at the other man. Neji could tell she was going to try to fight. He went tense. Faintly, through the reflection in the newly polished floor, he made out the movements of the men they threw to the ground. From behind his cousin they sat up, sneering up at her, glancing over at Kabuto. The blood in his veins ran cold as realization dawned.

They were never knocked out.

They were pretending to be unconscious, waiting for a command.

"Don't!" Neji begged, and Kabuto looked down on him, thoughtful. Hinata was stunned. Neji never looked or sounded so desperate, so utterly defeated. But he knew he had to be. For her sake, he knew what would transpire if he showed any more defiance. And he wouldn't allow himself to get carried away by his own antagonism. Not now.

"Don't…" Neji repeated numbly, urging Kabuto to not carry out the execution. He knew more than anyone what this man was capable of. What horrors he could induce. The torment he could bring through unfathomable, unspeakable evils even Hinata would have a difficult time digesting. Imagining his family suffering at Kabuto's hands because of his rash ineptitude made him ill. So he remained still, attempting to relax, to appear willing as Kabuto gave him a once over, considering his prospects. If Neji had to be whipped, mangled, tortured in order to keep her safe from him, he would welcome it all.

Hinata flinched as she heard shuffling from behind her. The mercenaries stood up and dusted themselves off, eager for the go ahead.

Kabuto smiled in her direction before placing a hand on his chin.

Neji's breath hitched.

"Will you be good?" Kabuto's tone was condescending. It sliced at his pride, wounding him deeply. Neji gritted his teeth, begrudgingly nodding his head and allowing himself to be yanked up by his ponytail to face Hinata and the others. He went lax, as he knew he should. Any resistance, and it was over. This was how it had to be.

Kabuto leaned in, his lips gently tracing the contours of Neji's ear. They pressed softly against Neji's flesh as Kabuto whispered, "Good... I always thought we worked best when we were on the same page."

Neji visibly shivered, resisting every impulse to destroy .

"We're leaving," Kabuto told the others, throwing Neji to the floor. Neji was soon pulled up by his shoulders. The men that were hired stepped past Hinata, each of them taking one of Neji's arms.

"Oh, and please don't attempt to follow us," Kabuto said, throwing Hinata a backwards glance.

And Hinata didn't.

She didn't cry when Neji was dragged away.

She didn't scream.

She didn't beg.

She stood there, knowing with increased foreboding that if she attempted to go after them, Neji could be killed.

So she stared at her feet, counting the footfalls until they disappeared.

Then it was quiet.

02:24
El Araba El Madfuna
العرابة المدفونة
Two miles south-west of Abydos ( أبيدوس)

They did not leave in ten minutes.

Naruto groaned, pressing his cheek against the back of his camel's elongated neck with a dejected sigh. Humphrey, who Naruto affectionately named for obvious reasons, huffed through his nose, snarling testily at the flies attempting a hostile takeover of his nostrils. Naruto patted him encouragingly on the head, exhausted, but urging him to fight on. His eyelids drooped half-mast, though each bump against his ass momentarily snapped him awake, careening his body in several different directions at once.

Gaara placed his hands on Naruto's hips in an attempt to keep him steady.

"If you must, you can use me to sleep until we get there," Gaara murmured, gently coaxing Naruto back so he lay against his chest. He wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist, securing him to ensure his safety. Naruto smiled in appreciation, even if Gaara couldn't see it, taking him up on his offer.

Nearly an hour passed after Tsunade's declaration before they were asked to board the aircraft, and naturally, Tsunade took her sweet time gearing up for the flight, causing them even more delays than they'd hoped. When Naruto begged her to get a move on, she only dragged things out. He had to watch her lazy ass check the navigation lights with receding interest, a pack of camels resting in the breast pocket of her survival vest—already on her fifth cigarette of the day.

He wanted to make it to Sohag in one piece, so he had to keep his comments to himself about her sixth. It was punishment.

He should have expected some sort of payback for the snake incident. Just imagine the relief when they finally ascended into the air. Naruto got zero shut eye then. Using the flight as an opportunity to sleep proved pointless and uncomfortable. So uncomfortable. Because Sasuke hadn't said a word to him since they left Kiba's, and even now as they rode away from Sohag to Abydos, the bastard offered nothing but a few glances in his direction. At this rate, working together was going to be a real pain in the ass.

For a moment, Naruto envied Humphrey with the bugs crawling up his nose. His problems were simple. He didn't have to worry about a kidnapped brother or an ancient curse. He just had to worry about Saliva.

Naruto threw Sasuke's camel a backwards glance.

The dirty look he received eerily mirrored Kurama's.

He'd already given Sasuke's thing a name: Saliva. The animal had been drooling the entire trek to Abydos with a string of fluids—and other unmentionables—hanging from the side of its large, down-turned lips. Snot occasionally would join the mix, flying into the air and coating Humphrey's ass in gross, gelatinous fluids. Maybe that's how camel's greeted each other. Or maybe Saliva was interested in Humphrey, and this was some bizarre mating ritual where drool was a euphemism for humping it out in the sand later.

Whatever the hell it meant, it was gross.

Naruto squinted his eyes.

They weren't far from Abydos, after catching a ride from Sohag to El Eraba they were now only just ten minutes away. Naruto could already see the facade of the temple Seti in the distance, its twelve limestone columns harmonizing alongside the night sky. The stars were out tonight, bright, beautiful, and tempting Naruto to lean back and chart the constellations above.

So he did.

Naruto smiled. He lifted his hand and pointed upward, wordlessly tracing patterns as they moved.

Gaara furrowed his brows at the display and mimicked the motion, curious.

"Are you trying to cast a spell?" Gaara asked. He sounded so serious Naruto had to throw his head back and laugh.

"What? No!" Naruto snorted, reaching behind him to take Gaara's hand. "They're constellations, see? That's Polaris, it's the brightest star in the Ursa Major, the north star. Then if you trace down like this," Naruto brought Gaara's hand down , "and follow it here, it kind of looks like a ladle, right? We call that the little dipper. Next to it—yeah, right there! We call that the big dipper. And over here we've got Sirius, to the south east. You see it?"

Sasuke darkly watched the two of them. He wondered why he suddenly felt annoyed.

"That isn't Sirius, Naruto, that is the Osiris," Gaara pointed out, matter-o-factly. The redhead gestured high in the northern sky, "and that is Hapi, god of the Nile river."

"I guess it's all basically the same thing," Naruto shrugged. "But yup, you're right, that's Hapi. I guess we're in for some good fortune, huh?"

"I do hope so…." Gaara murmured, absently. "We are in need of it."

It grew quiet again.

Their bodies rocked solely to the tune of Humphrey's set rhythm, and Naruto stared ahead, letting the meaning of those words sink in. They were really in some deep shit, weren't they? Would they really be okay like this? With only the three of them? Naruto hated it, but he had his doubts.

"That woman..." Gaara began again, his low, gravelly voice tactfully easing into something he clearly was troubled with, "...was she really a friend?"

Naruto blinked.

"Tsunade?"

Gaara nodded against him, his breath tickling the nape of Naruto's neck as he uttered, "I don't remember her."

"Oh. Then I guess that means she might not have existed… in the past, huh?" Naruto frowned. That was difficult for him to picture. "Well, uh, yeah.." he continued on, ignoring the questions racing through his head. "I've known granny since forever because my mom was her best friend. It's kind of weird. She'd been mom's anthropology professor."

"Anthropology?"

"It's the study of human societies and cultures. That stuff."

"And your father?"

Naruto's heart swelled, "A digger, like me. He helped uncover a lot of important artifacts before he…they..." he trailed off, the smile on his face fading. A familiar ache, grief, settled on his features in a tense, lopsided simper.

Sasuke listened. Noticed. His gaze lingered on Naruto's, watching a flash of something dark and painful etch onto his features—the misery of loss. It was gone before he could properly dissect it, replaced with a large, overcompensated smile. Sasuke watched on, growing agitated at the pointless display. Your mask isn't fooling anyone, Sasuke wanted to tell him. He could still see the cracks. He could easily distinguish Naruto's earnestness from foolish, upbeat pretenses. And it irritated him.

"Ah… anyways... granny taught her in school," Naruto inhaled shakily, collecting himself, "and her and mom hit it off so well that after she graduated, granny started coming around the house more. She pretty much became a part of the family after that, changing my diapers when my parents were away, feeding me carrot mush, stuff like that. Haha..."

Self-consciously, Naruto tried to stiffen his shoulders to stop their trembling. Whether it was from the chill of the desert at night or simply talking about his parents, Naruto's teeth unwelcomely clacked together between pauses, threatening to chip away at them. If Gaara noticed his hesitation, his unease, he didn't comment on it. Instead, the other man glanced at the scarf around the archaeologist's neck and grabbed one of the ends of the material, wrapping it around the blonde a third time.

Naruto's cheeks warmed at the gesture, the turbulence in his heart momentarily stilled.

Sasuke looked away.

"Is it not warm enough for you?"

"No way," Naruto smiled gratefully, shaking his head, "it's perfect. Seriously, Gaara, thanks for letting me use it. I haven't had a chance to go back home and grab anything since this whole mess with Sasuke started. So you've really saved me."

In more ways than one.

Speaking of Sasuke, Naruto was still wracking his brain for ways to break the ice.

Naruto tried to remain inconspicuous as he peered over his shoulder. Sasuke's own scarf did nothing to hide the brooding look on his face. The bastard was sporting all black, sitting on Saliva with his shoulders hunched, almost anticipatory. A slim-fit, crew neck T-shirt—courtesy of Tsunade—clung to pale muscles that stretched whenever Sasuke leered forward, contemplatively observing the Great Temple of Osiris in the distance.
Sasuke brushed inky strands of hair behind his ear, and Naruto's breath hitched.

He didn't miss the way his pulse spiked, Sasuke's finger-less gloves only further accentuating the slenderness of capable fingers. And fuck, it really wasn't hard to fantasize how those digits would dig into his hips. Rake up his back. Press into the cleft of his ass and knead the flesh until he was writhing . Just as it wasn't hard to imagine Sasuke's thumb, gently caressing his bottom lip, dragging it down, down, down in an almost passive, yet tormenting attempt to send his heart into overdrive.

Naruto unconsciously swiped his tongue over his teeth, feeling that familiar, delicious heat in his lower half spread to his toes, just as it did before at Kiba's, and on the couch In his apartment.

When Sasuke made out with him.

Oh, boy.

He clicked his teeth, shaking his head. Get a grip, seriously! He forced himself to face forward. What was he, thirteen? Man, they really needed to talk about this. This being mainly the situation with Kabuto, obviously, but there were also a few pressing issues he needed to address, besides the matter of his dick pressing insistently against the fabric of his pants.

"We're here," Gaara announced.

Naruto had never been so relieved.

Humphrey kneeled down, granting them permission to slide off. Naruto did so rather gracelessly, tumbling onto the ground and scrambling up, muttering that he would go on ahead and set up camp.

He briskly walked to the temple, hoping to clear his head. Cool off. The sand crunched loudly beneath his shoes, doing nothing to quash the mental images in his head, driving him crazy. As much as he hated himself—dammit did he suck— there was no denying it anymore. He was coming to grips with the fact that he was attracted to Sasuke, and the pull he felt lately was hard to ignore.

As much as Naruto tried—and he's tried everything— Sasuke just wouldn't leave his mind. He couldn't get the asshole out of his head since the kiss, or the questions accompanying it. Questions that, to Naruto's growing irritation, relentlessly pounded Naruto's psyche with no clear answer in sight, making him relive the event over and over. Reminding him that each time Sasuke touched him, it felt good, warm, intimate.

Like home.

Naruto clammed up.

If he factored in the whole reincarnation issue, coupled with those deep, sensual kisses, he only came to one insane, completely unbelievable conclusion that he was not willing to accept.

And he only knew one person who could confirm his suspicions.

"Naruto?" Gaara called. Naruto jolted from where he'd stood in front of the temple steps, frozen, and turned around to meet both him and Sasuke. Their intensified gazes stripped him bare. "Are you alright?"

Sasuke's dark irises never left his at the question, as if transfixed.

Coal orbs bore through sharp cobalt, not once breaking contact.

There's just no way, right?

"Y-Ya…" Naruto sputtered. His face pathetically flushed. He was thankful, so thankful for the darkness as he moved on ahead, ears burning. Heart pounding.

Sasuke mutely walked behind him, and Naruto swallowed. Hard.

"I'm fine. Let's go inside."

Shit.

This was going to be the longest night of his life.

C/N:

Tjati* = vizier
Niewtey* =citizen